


Dean Winchester: Righteous Man

by WynterEugenia



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean Has Powers, Post-Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2017-01-12
Packaged: 2018-04-01 17:12:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4028113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WynterEugenia/pseuds/WynterEugenia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Uh, sorry, but who are you? And, uh, what are you doing in my dream?”<br/>“I’m Castiel’s father and I’m here to talk to you, Dean.”<br/>“Huh?” The words needed a second to sink in and Dean spluttered. “You’re God?!”</p><p>(Or how things get a bit crazy after Death comes over for dinner.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drink Me

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Supernatural (sadly) and I'm not doing this for any personal gain (except a bit of fun).
> 
> Also this is unbetad. Any comments on mistakes I've made will be appreciated.
> 
> Note: Gabriel/Sam and Adam/Samandriel will not really be focused on and it might be a bit of a slow burn.

Death was sitting at their dinner table. The guy had popped up of nowhere onto an empty chair, with a plate and cutlery (so Dean guessed he had made a stop to the kitchen first, or magicked it up out of thin air) and started piling food onto said plate.

While Lisa yelped in surprise and Ben nearly fell out of his chair, Dean only stared at the Horseman, before opening his mouth, „What the fuck? What are you doing here? I thought the apocalypse was over.”

Death happily munched on his lasagna, well as happy as Death ever was (God, the guy gave Dean the creeps) and completely ignoring Dean, turned to Lisa after swallowing, “This really is very good lasagna.”

Lisa’s eyes darted from Death to Dean. “Uh… actually, Dean made it, not me.”

Death turned a surprised face to Dean. “Oh, _really_? Dean Winchester – who would have thought.”

Dean cleared his throat, concentrating very hard to stop the blood flowing to his cheeks. “Not that it’s not… uh… nice to see you, but really, what are you doing here?”   

Death sighed the sigh of the long suffering. “I’m here because an old acquaintance asked me for a favor.” He lifted an imperious eyebrow. “It also concerns your angel.”

Dean’s heart stopped for a second. “Cas? Is he okay? Did something happen?”

Death snorted. “It seems that the free will you inspired in him is causing a revolution in Heaven, which Raphael didn’t like very much. So now Heaven is in the middle of a civil war.”

“What?” Dean blinked. “Why the fuck did he not tell me?!”

“God only knows. And on that note”, he slipped his hand into his suit pocked and pulled out a vial filled with a milky, shimmering substance.

“Is that… grace?” Dean asked as he reached for it haltingly.

“What else could it possibly be?” Death asked in his, you-lesser-beings-are-so-incredibly-stupid-and-I-despair-of-you voice.

Dean gave him the stink eye and examined the vial in his hand. “Yeah, but whose grace?” Then a sudden thought occurred to him. “Oh my God, it’s not Gabriel is it?”

Death rolled his eyes. “No, it’s not the Messenger, or any other angel for that matter”, and stuffed another piece of lasagna in his mouth.

“Then whose is it? If it’s not an angels?” What the hell else had _grace_?

“That’s not part of my job. I was just told to bring this to you, which I did, tell you about what is going on in heaven, which I also did, and tell you to call your rebellious little angel first thing in the morning after getting a good night’s sleep with the grace nearby, preferably under your pillow.” He cocked his head to the side. “And since I have done my part now, I will take my leave.” He again cocked an imperious eyebrow at Dean and disappeared. With the lasagna.

“Dean,” Lisa said as composed as possible, “who was that?”

“That,” Dean sighed, “was Death.”

 

-

 

Dean was pacing. He practically itched to call for Cas, rave and rant at him for not coming to Dean for the (albeit limited) help of the hunter and then shove the weird grace filled vial into Cas’s face and ask him what the fuck that thing was.

“Dean?”

Dean whirled around to find Lisa behind him. She seemed worried and… something else Dean couldn’t identify.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine”, he said automatically.

Lisa gave him a look only moms managed.

“Yeah, okay, I’m… not so fine.” He sighed, exasperated and then exploded. “Why the fuck did he not tell me? Like, did he think I wouldn’t help him?”

Lisa shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t want to get you involved. Maybe he thought it was too dangerous or too much to ask. You stopped being a hunter like a year ago. I mean, you are friends, right? Him wanting to protect you would be normal. I mean, and I can’t believe I am actually saying this but, we are talking about a _civil war_ in _Heaven_ , between _angels_.”

“Yeah, you might be right.” He swiped a hand over his face. “Still doesn’t mean he should do shit like that on his own.”

“So, what are you going to do now with…?” She gestured towards the grace filled vial on Dean’s nightstand.

“Put it under my pillow and wait for the Tooth Fairy?”

Lisa looked even more concerned. “You are actually going to do as… Death said?”

“Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged.

“Are you sure you can trust him?”

“Guy doesn’t really lie, actually he can be brutally honest and he’s kind of a… neutral party so…”

“You’re really gonna do it.”

“Yeah.”

Lisa chewed on her lips and fidgeted slightly.

It was then that Dean realized his mistake; Lisa was not Sam or Cas or Bobby. “I can sleep on the couch if you don’t want me to do this next to you”, he added.

Lisa grimaced.

Dean nodded. “I’ll take the couch.” He grabbed the vial from his bedside table and moved to gather up his pillow and blanket.

“Don’t get me wrong”, Lisa blurted. “I don’t want to exile you or anything, but”, she wrung her hands, “I’m scared because… what if this keeps happening? I mean, _the Grim Reaper_ came over for dinner to deliver _grace_ to you.” She gestured at the vial in Dean’s hand with a short jabbing motion. “And we have no idea what that’s gonna do. I need to think about my son, too.”

And Dean got it. He really did. Lisa was just a mother who was worrying about her child and thanks to Dean she knew about all the horrifying things that went bump in the night.

“I’ll sleep downstairs on the couch for tonight. If things turn out to be shitty when I talk to Cas tomorrow morning, I’ll give Bobby a call.” He put the vial in the pocket of his track suit bottoms, grabbed his pillow and blanket and moved past Lisa to the stairs.

With his Winchester luck it would turn very shitty and fuck, he didn’t really wanna leave Ben and Lisa behind. Especially when Ben and him were getting along so well. The kid was like his own son! But on the other hand he missed being a hunter. The apple pie life was all nice and everything but… But… Fuck, why couldn’t he just have both?

“Dean”, Lisa called after him.

He turned and smiled his best smile at her. “No it’s fine, I get it. You’re a mom, you have a kid to worry about. And trust me I wouldn’t wish being raised a hunter on anyone.” He shrugged. “But someone’s gotta do the job. And Cas helped us so much when we needed it. I can’t not try to pay him back at least a little bit.” He walked down the stairs into the living room.

 

-

 

Incredibly weird things were happening. Sammy was back from the dead, but without a soul, an angel Cas had thought was dead was stealing weapons from Heaven’s armory, they got sent into a reality where they were a TV show, they had Death get Sam’s soul back, the thieving angel un-sank the Titanic and got Fate on their heels, Cas made a deal with Crowley, ate souls from purgatory, went mad and then exploded and… and…

It went on and on and on. And fuck what was happening? Was this real? Dean thought that he could distantly remember going to sleep at Lisa’s.

And then he was on a fishing dock by a lake. He remembered this from a dream in which Cas had visited him before they had sent him to Bible Camp. He wasn’t on a chair this time though and he had no fishing rod. He was sitting on the dock, legs dangling above the rose colored water, in which impossibly colorful fish were swimming.

“Beautiful aren’t they?”

Dean jerked around so fast he almost got whiplash. Next to him set a… well, a person. Dean found it impossible to tell their age, or gender or _anything_ for that matter. He? she? _it_? was neither old nor young, neither dark nor fair. He/she/it was drop-dead gorgeous, but at the same time very plain, incredibly tall and broad, but also very small and thin, impossibly powerful, but very fragile, warm like a mother’s embrace, but as cold as the wind in the arctic. He/she/it was everything and nothing.

Dean stared, he/she/it smiled warmly.

“Hello, Dean.”

“Uh, hi”, his/her/it’s smile broadened, warmed even more. “Uh, sorry, but who are you? And, uh, what are you doing in my dream?”

“I’m Castiel’s father and I’m here to talk to you, Dean.”

“Huh?” The words needed a second to sink in and Dean spluttered. “You’re _God_?!”

She (yes, _she_ damn it, because Dean couldn’t call anyone who looked so androgynies _he_ ) nodded. “That’s what the Christians call me.” She looked over the lake to the other shore. “The Jews call me Elohim, the Muslims call me Allah, the angels call me Father, Gabriel and Lucifer call me Dad”, she chuckled. “Michael used to call me Mother, once upon a time, when it was still just the two of us.”

Dean raised his eyebrows at that. Who would have thought?

She turned back to Dean. “As you see I have many names, but I like the familial ones the most.”

Dean found himself nodding and then promptly shook his head. This was fucking surreal. What was _God_ (if this really was God, because really?!) doing in _his_ , mere mortal Dean Winchester’s, dream?

“You are no mere mortal Dean. You are the Righteous Man, the Sword of Michael and the Hero of the Apocalypse and” God tilted her head to the side smiling, “you are one of my favorites.” And fuck, _of course_ God can read minds. “I know, I shouldn’t favor one of my children over the other but there are some that I am just so very proud of, like you, like Castiel, like Lucifer.” 

“ _Lucifer?_ You are proud of _the devil_? The evil son of a bitch who rebelled and created demons and… and Cas rebelled too.” And oh shit had he just called God a bitch?!

God _giggled. W_ hat the hell. “It’s adorable how you call him ‘Cas’, even if it means you cut me out of his name. You are right though, they both rebelled. But they both did it out of their own free will. Lucifer, who resented the humans because he thought them inferior and Castiel, who has always fascinated by humans and learned to love them through you.”

God smiled and lifted her hand to cup the side of his face lovingly and Dean couldn’t help but lean into the touch. “He loves you very much, you know, my little rebellious one. And that’s why I need your help.”

She pulled her hand back and Dean opened his eyes. When had he closed them?

“My help? _You_ need _my_ help?” he repeated.

God nodded.

Dean blinked and opened his mouth. “Oh, hell no!” He jabbed his finger towards God. “You just fucked off to places unknown, left behind a whole bag of incredibly confused dicks with wings, who then tried to kick start the apocalypse. Cas looked for you, you know, for weeks on end. But you never once dropped by, never once helped. That slimy douche _Crowley_ was more of a help than _you_. So many people died because of your kids wanting paradise on earth. Gabriel died after he finally grew a pair, Cas lost his grace and then he got _exploded_!, Adam and _Sammy_ had to go to _Hell_! AND YOU WERE NEVER THERE!” Dean was shouting at the end of it and completely out of breath.

God looked at him sadly. “Oh, Dean” she breathed and put two finger against his forehead and Dean had a second to think how much of a Cas gesture that was, before he was swapped off to the very beginning.

_First there was darkness pierced by a single, but all consuming light. And he was lonely in the vast nothingness. Then he created the leviathans for he was the beginning and the end, he was the one that gave and the one that took. And he took the freedom of the leviathans when he saw how very dangerous and volatile they were. He created purgatory and locked them away._

_His next creation was a very different creature all together – an angel, made of light and so very obedient. He whispered the name of the being into its ear,_ Michael _. And for a while it was only him and Michael. Then he created Lucifer, his favorite, the Morningstar, the Lightbringer. He knew the consequences of his actions, knew of the betrayal before it even happened, but he was selfish, for he loved Lucifer so much he could not bear not to create him._

_From then on there came more; Raphael, the Healer, Gabriel the Messenger – his archangels. Then he created the Seraphim, the Erelim, the Malakhim, and the Cherubim._

_As he turned his attention to the creation of the earth, the future and Lucifer’s fall from grace became clearer, the creation of the humans, the brothers destined to become vessels, their unfortunate lives, Dean breaking in Hell, Sam killing Lilith and finally the end. If he left things the way they were, all would lead to that one point. If he left things the way they were…_

_He stretched out his hand to create the last of the angels and held it close to whisper, “Open your eyes Castiel, Shield of God, you my little one I gift with the light of love and free will, so that you may make your own way.” He released the little Malakh and turned to create the animals and the humans. His mind was more at ease now. The future that was mapping out in front of him was more to his liking…_

Dean came back gasping. His head was pounding. He was overwhelmed with emotions. He has seen the creation of the universe through God’s eyes, felt all the _love_ that God felt for his children. The love he felt for Sam or Bobby, the love he had felt for Dad, it all paled in comparison.

“Fuck!” he said rubbing at his eyes.

He had seen angels in their actual forms. He had seen Cas’s real face. Though he couldn’t remember it clearly now, he only remembered that the creature he had seen had almost been terrifying in its beauty.

“Is your understanding clearer now, Dean?”

 _Fuck_ , Dean nodded.

“Good”, God smiled, “then let me explain a few other things as well. You see, Dean, I cannot simply dive into what happens in the universe and alter whatever I please.”

Dean looked up in confusion. “Uh, but I thought God is all-mighty, that you could do anything.”

“Oh, I could. But there are some rules and restrictions that bind even me.”

Dean’s eyebrow shot up. “Like what?”

“Free will.” God smiled sweetly. “You see humans wouldn’t really have free will if I just meddled in their affairs as I pleased or if I started over with a clean slate. Though I have done such things before, with the flood and partially in Egypt, and I did use prophets to show the humans possible good paths, but they still needed to be able to choose. Some people chose not to listen to Noah, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, David, Aaron, Ishmael, Joseph, Muhammad and all of the other prophets. There were thousands of prophets throughout history. I sent a prophet for every people on this earth. And Muhammad was my last great human messenger. People think that he was the last altogether but we know that was a wrong interpretation, don’t we.”

Dean thought of Chuck and snorted. “Yeah.”

“But the point still stands if I had wanted I could have created the humans absolute in their belief, I wouldn’t have needed to send so many prophets either”, said God leaning back on her hands.

“Why didn’t you?” Dean asked. “Not that I want you to get rid of free will. Man do I ever not want that, but it would have been easier for you, right?”

God sat up straight and turned towards Dean, tucking her legs under. “Yes, but you can’t always take the easy path can you? Because you see Dean, love, faith, sacrifice and devotion which are freely given are worth more than utter and indestructible faith which comes from birth.

“If I had not given Castiel more than the spark of free will that the other angels possess but simply ordered him to love and protect and die for you, do you think it would have carried the same meaning? Would you have loved him as much as you do, if he had been nothing but a puppet with his strings attached to my fingers?”

Dean rubbed the bridge of his nose. “No.”

“You see?” God chuckled. “But we have gone off topic. I believe I have told you that I needed your help.”

Dean scoffed, but not unfriendly. “Yeah, still kinda hard to believe that.” He turned around to face God head on, tucking his right leg under and leaving his left to dangle from the dock. “So, let’s hear it.”

“As I told you, I cannot just alter reality as I please, so I have to move through other channels if I want to help out.”

Dean nodded. “Yeah, I got that. But where do I come in?”

“Why, right there. I need you to stop the war in Heaven. The angels have gone too far with in their ambition. They started ignoring what they were created for. Some of them, like Zachariah, are no better than demons with angel wings. So far I have only ever erased the slate for the earthly order, but now I want to do so for Heaven. But even angels have free will. It is not as prominent as in humans and vastly ignored and frowned upon but it is still there.”

“So you need me to act like… a prophet, only for the angels this time.”

God shook her head. “No, I need you to finally be the Righteous Man.”

Dean frowned in confusion. “I thought I was, you know, being the Michael Sword and all.”

God chuckled. “Ah, another misunderstanding. Yes, Dean, you are the Michael Sword but that is not all you are. The Righteous Man is seen as the Michael Sword because you are the only being that could channel the full power of an archangel and because of who your brother is. But had Michael, or any other angel for that matter, ever taken you as a vessel they would have noticed that you are meant to contain something far more powerful than an angel’s grace.”

Dean stared. “And that is…”

“ _My_ grace, Dean. You are able to hold _my_ grace.”

Dean opened his mouth and no sound came out. Could his life get any more out of  the realm of reality? Or what other people considered reality. Good that Chuck hadn’t published any more books. If people thought the “Yellow-Eyed Demon Arch” was unbelievable, _this_ would have been so impossible that it didn’t belong in this universe anymore.

Then something clicked.

“That’s your grace in the vial!”

“It’s only a drop of my grace. A vial such as that could never contain all of me.”

Dean rubbed his hands over his face and mumbled, “Oh God, I’m sleeping with _God’s grace_ under my pillow on the _couch_ in the _living room,_ because my girlfriend _exiled_ me, because she thought there could be something _evil_ in that vial. _And we had Death over for dinner_!”

God laughed.

“Oh shut up”, Dean groaned.

God laughed harder.

“Gabriel really is your son isn’t he? You are just as much an ass as he was.”

God let out a last giggle. “Don’t let his armor blind you, Gabriel is actually a very sensitive creature and when he loves he loves with his whole heart. But we are getting off topic again.”

Dean rubbed at his eyes. “Okay, just so we are absolutely clear”, he made a rather tired looking cutting motion through the air, “You want me to flatten Heaven and kick angelic asses so that you can build a new castle over the clouds and give your kids a stern talking?”

God nodded. “And I want you to use my grace in the vial to do so.”

“And if I refuse Cas eats leviathans, turns evil and explodes… again.”

“Simply put, yes.”

Dean groaned and took a deep breath, massaging his temples. “Okay, okay. I’ll do it. But I’ll do it for Cas.”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything else.”

“And, I want compensation.”

He looked up and God quirked an eyebrow at him. “In form of?”

“Want Sammy back out of Hell, as well as Adam. You said yourself that a freely given sacrifice is worth a lot. I think they deserve a reward for the shit your kids put them through.”

“Anything else?”

“I want Lisa and Ben to be safe. I…I probably won’t be coming back after this. I mean, I have no illusions. If I start getting involved with the supernatural again, I won’t stop. I know that and I want those two as far away from it all as possible. Erase their memories if you have to.”

God leaned forward and smiled brightly at him, placing a comforting hand on his knee. “Only you Dean could ask for compensation for being the Hand of God and then ask nothing for yourself.” She shook her head. “Far be it from me to deny you. You will find Sam and Adam in Sioux Falls. Take my grace and call Castiel tomorrow. Get accustomed to my grace for a while, learn to use it. I will send you three angels for help, you can trust them. As for Lisa and Ben, they will be safe. And you don’t need to mourn Dean. Lisa is a kind and good soul, but she is not the right one for you, trust me I know.” She winked.

Dean burst out laughing. “That’s like worst way of saying ‘I’m God and I’m all-knowing.”

God laughed as well and put two fingers to his forehead, “Goodbye for now, Dean Winchester.”

 

-

 

Dean woke with a gasp. Son of bitch. That had been one hell of a dream. He blinked. He was in the living room, on the couch. Slivers of very early morning light were snaking into the room, through the curtains.

Slowly, very slowly he slid his hand under his pillow. His fingers touched warm glass. Carefully he wrapped them around the smooth surface and pulled his arm out from under the pillow. In his hand was the vial, filled with a swirling and shining milky substance.

Not a dream.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again. Then he noticed the little slip of paper tagged to the neck of the vial. Dean smoothed it out to read it. In an elegant cursive it said, _“Drink me”_.

Dean snorted.

Gabriel’s father indeed.

He sighed and set up. He pulled the cork out of the vial and looked up to the ceiling. “Cheers”, he said, toasting upwards and downed the vial’s contents.

It went down like liquid fire.

Dean felt how it glued itself to his throat, his stomach, seeping into every single cell and pouring out the pores of his skin, his eyes, his mouth, his nose. And there was so much light. If Anna getting her grace back had been an explosion of light, this – this was the fucking sun going supernova. It was indescribable pain and incredibly deep peace.


	2. Send Me An Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hey, Bobby..."
> 
> "Don't 'hey, Bobby' me, boy and tell me why the Hell I have two dead Winchesters and three annoying as fuck angels in my house, telling me that God send them?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, here I am. Creeping back into the light again after a disgustingly long absence (right after the first chapter too). And I am really very sorry for taking so long - especially after those really fantastic comments I got! I would like to promise that I will be updating more regularly from now on, but I had a really bad summer, followed by a worse uni semester which cost me some of my inspiration. I will try my best to update faster this time around though!
> 
> Again, this is unbetad and any mistakes are my own. I would also love to get some feedback, so feel free to leave a comment. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy…

Dean came too with Lisa hovering over him, her face lined with worry. Damn, how was it possible for every last cell in his body to hurt so much?

 

Oh, right…

 

“Dean! Oh, thank God, you’re awake”, said Lisa fluttering her hands over him, not sure where or if to touch.

 

A helpless and rather hysterical little laugh escaped Dean at her exclamation. ‘Thank God’. That was funny now.

 

Dean suspected he might be a bit loopy.

 

“Are you alright?” Lisa asked, looking a bit panicked now.

 

_You wouldn’t believe me if I told you_ , he thought as he tried to sit up and failed miserably, until Lisa took pity on him.

 

“We woke up when the whole house started shaking. I thought it was an earthquake at first, but when I got to the stairs there was this bright light coming from down here.”

 

Dean groaned as the room spun around him. Yeah, maybe he should have stayed horizontal.

 

“Dean, come on. Talk to me!”

 

“I had a chat with God”, Dean said, trying very hard to concentrate.

 

Lisa opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, but no actual sound made it out. “You… talked to God?”

 

“Yeah”, he breathed, “she is nicer than I thought.”

 

“She?”

 

“Well, I don’t think she actually has a gender, but it was better than to call her ‘it’. And ‘he’ didn’t really fit right.”

 

Lisa nodded a bit shakily. Dean suspected that she was just humoring him. “And what did you talk about?”

 

Dean felt his stomach knotting up in dread. “Can’t tell you. Won’t be safe.” He sighed explosively. “I gotta call Cas and get to Bobby’s. I’ll need to lie low for a bit, or I’ll have the whole of the Heavenly Host out for my blood. And let me tell you, angels can be _mean_ bastards!”

 

“You’re leaving?”

 

Dean’s head snapped up and Lisa whirled around. At the foot of the stairs stood Ben.

 

“Ben, I told you to stay in your room!” Lisa said in her best mom-voice, but Ben was already running back upstairs.

 

“Oh, damn it”, Dean said with feeling.

 

“I’ll talk to Ben”, Lisa patted him on the arm. “You talk to your angel.”

 

Before Dean could answer - and protest that Cas was not _his_ angel, damn it -, she had already disappeared.

 

Dean sighed… again. He had a feeling he would be doing that a lot in the future. He grimaced and started to pray. “Hey, Castiel.” God, he always felt so stupid talking to thin air like that. He took a deep breath and called forth all the righteous fury from last night. "I need your help, so get your feathery ass down here and don't even think about ignoring me. I know about your little civil war. And I don't know if Crowley approached you with a deal, yet. But if he did and you accepted, I'm gonna find a way upstairs, sit on your moron head and pull your feathers out one by one."

 

Castiel didn't appear out of nowhere like usual. There was a flutter of wings and a gentle gust of wind. "Dean", and yeah, he sounded exasperated.

 

Dean turned around to face him. "Woah!"

 

Dean could see _Cas_. True, genuine Cas showing through his vessel with four massive black shapes sticking out of his back. He was _gorgeous_.

 

"Dean?" Castiel asked, looking worried.

 

Dean couldn't do anything but stare. Castiel was indescribable. No words could ever compare. Dean could have stood there for a lifetime, just gazing.

 

"Dean?" Castiel asked again, now almost nose to nose with him. Dean could see that he'd have to teach Cas about personal space all over again.

 

"Uh, sorry man", he stuttered. "Just", he fished for something to say, other than 'you are incredibly beautiful'. "Your wings are awesome!" he finally blurted out.

 

Castiel took a startled step back. "You can see them?"

 

Oh was Dean ever seeing them. He nodded.

 

Castiel narrowed his eyes and studied Dean closer, seemingly looking through Dean right to his very soul. Which, with Castiel being an angel, was a real possibility.

 

"Dean!" Castiel said alarmed and… pissed off? "What happened to your soul? It's even more infused with grace now!" _Nailed it!_

 

"Yeah, well that's actually the reason why I... Wait a second", Dean narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What do you mean with 'even more'?"

 

"When I raised you, both your soul and your body had suffered from your time in Hell. I infused you with a small piece of my grace to help you heal and make your body whole again. It even left a mark", Castiel nodded to Dean's left shoulder impatiently.

 

"So that didn't happen when you grabbed me and pulled me out?"

 

"That left a mark as well, but not a physical one. An angel raising a soul and consequently coming into direct contact with it leaves a mark on the soul. The handprint manifested later, when I restored your body."

 

Dean allowed himself to mentally flail a bit. "So you're telling me that everybody who can see my soul can see that I... carry around bits of you?"

 

"Essentially. Dean, you still haven't answered my question. What did you do?!"

 

Dean felt his eye twitch a bit. All that teasing people had done made more sense, now that he realized how he'd run a round with a sign saying "Castiel was here!" not only on his shoulder, but also on his fucking soul!

 

He took a deep, calming breath. He had a feeling that he'd be doing that pretty often too. "Okay, okay, forget that. Just... did you talk about a deal with Crowley?"

 

Castiel furrowed his brow. "No."

 

"But there is a civil war going on in heaven."

 

"Yes. How do you know about that?"

 

"And it's you against Raphael."

 

"Who told you?" Castiel was looking peeved now.

 

Dean chuckled mirthlessly. "Even knowing that I'm talking to an angel, it seems absurd." He sighed and steeled himself for what would come next. But he thought that Castiel should really see his little chat with God, not just hear it second-hand. The guy deserved it with how much he had done to find her during the Apocalypse. "Could you like, look up my memories of last night, or something. 'Cause I think that there are a couple of things you should see for yourself."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

Dean nodded. He trusted Cas, he could do this.

 

Castiel studied him a moment, before raising his hands and carefully putting his fingers to Dean's temples. "I promise I will not look at any of your other memories. Just relax and think of what you want to show me."

 

Then Dean felt a sensation, almost like pressure and Castiel was in his mind. He pulled up the memory of last night and shoved it towards Cas. Dean wasn't sure if it took a second, a minute, or an hour before Castiel stumbled backwards with wide eyes. He opened his mouth, an almost desperate look on his face, but found no words. Dean, listening to his inner Sam for once, put his hands reassuringly on Castiel's shoulders - a weird feeling because he could still see _Castiel_ beneath Jimmy's meat suit. "I know and it's okay. How about we concentrate on getting out of here for now? We can talk more on the ride to Sioux Falls if you want."

 

-

 

Saying goodbye to Ben and Lisa was as awkward and painful as Dean had imagined. He couldn't even look Ben in the eye. His look of utter hurt and betrayal was too much for Dean to take and he practically fled. Getting back on the road in his Baby with Castiel riding shotgun really helped, though. Castiel was a reassuring presence next to him, like a rock in the middle of an ocean and Dean sighed a sigh of relief.

 

"Your mood lifted", Castiel remarked.

 

"Yeah."

 

"I have to admit that I missed this too."

 

Dean cocked a very sarcastic eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? Cause fucking off to Heaven without so much as a 'by your leave' and not dropping by for almost a year is a weird way of showing that." He petulantly ignored how bitter that had sounded.

 

"Time doesn't pass for us the same way it does for you. Besides, I hardly even had time with Raphael 'hunting down my ass'", said Castiel, air-quotes and all.

 

Dean laughed. Wow, he'd even missed Castiel's dorkiness.

 

"Yeah well, we'll be getting help from Mom with that."

 

"Yes. After all the searching I did...", Castiel looked hopeful and maybe a bit angry. Dean could understand that.

 

"She is real proud of you, Cas", Dean's voice was almost a whisper. "She wanted you to be unique among the angels, and you turned out even better than she had imagined…"

 

Cas said nothing for a while just watching the scenery pass them by. "I didn't know it meant that", he finally said.

 

"What?"

 

"My name. I thought it meant 'Angel of Thursday' not 'Shield of God'."

 

Dean furrowed his brow. "But, I thought that an angel's name was also their job description or something."

 

"Our names also describe our duties, yes."

 

"But then, how come you..."

 

Dean's cellphone started ringing.

 

"Yes?" he answered without looking at the caller ID - bad move.

 

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

 

Dean hissed, put the call on speaker and practically threw it at Castiel, who caught it with ease.

 

Damn, he had forgotten to warn Bobby, he was so incredibly out of practice he'd even forgotten their rules for the-times-when-freaky-shit-is-going-down. Namely; inform all parties that will have to be involved that freaky shit is going down. Especially, when said freaky shit will be going down at their house. "Hey, Bobby..."

 

"Don't 'hey, Bobby' me, boy and tell me why the Hell I have two dead Winchesters and three annoying as fuck angels in my house, telling me that God send them?!" There were several voices in the background, arguing from the sound of it.

 

"What are their names?" Castiel cut in.

 

"Wait, what? Is that...?"

 

"Yes, Bobby it's Cas", Dean supplied.

 

"What are the names of the angels?" Castiel asked again.

 

Bobby grumbled grouchily. "Samandriel, Balthazar and Gabriel. As in I have the fucking Trickster in my house!"

 

"But Gabriel is dead." "But Balthazar is dead." Dean and Castiel spoke at the same time.

 

"Wait, you know this Balthazar guy?"

 

"Yes, but he went missing in Battle. We thought..."

 

"Not dead, Cassy", came a British, and in Dean's opinion snobbish, voice from the phone. "I more or less did the same as Gabe over here - my very own witness protection."

 

Dean huffed, great another one. "You know what? I don't care. Everyone can explain their non-deaths when we get there. Now give the phone to Sammy and Adam."

 

"Hey, Dean", said Sam's voice and the vice around Dean's heart fell away, like the metal bands had from Henry's at the end of the Frog-King.

 

"Hey, Sammy. You guys okay?"

 

"Yeah, we're good." And that was Adam. "Not possessed by dick angels anymore."

 

"Damn, that's good to hear", Dean said with feeling.

 

Before anyone could utter another word however, there was a slight rustle of wings and Dean almost drove off the road when he glanced into the rearview mirror to see Gabriel. Or more like Gabriel with his angel bits leaking through.

 

"What the fuck man?!"

 

"You're too slow", answered Gabriel and snapped his fingers. Next thing Dean knew he was driving towards Bobby's house - at highway speed. He hit the brakes. Hard. His Baby's tires make a terrible sound, spraying dirt and gravel everywhere and Dean silently promised to thoroughly clean her next chance he got.  

 

He let out a harsh breath before rounding in on Gabriel, managing to ignore the terrifying being under Gabriel's far too small vessel. "Never", he growled, "ever do that again. My Baby is off limits, got that? You ever pull a stunt like that again, you'll suffer the consequences."

 

Gabriel looked extremely unimpressed. "Really, Dean-o? What could you possibly do to me?"

 

Dean smirked. "Just ask Cas about Michael and the holy oil." He heard the crash of a door and everyone pouring out of Bobby's house. He got out just in time for Sam to envelope him into a big bear hug. He smiled as he hugged his little brother back. "Yeah, I missed you too, bitch."

 

Sam huffed. "Jerk."

 

He glanced over Sam's shoulder at Adam, standing just a short distance away, and crooked a finger at him. "Come on, you punk. If we are going to have a mushy Winchester brothers reunion, then we are doing it with all of us."

 

As soon as Adam was in reach Sam pulled him in for a group hug.

 

"So… this is what it's like to have two older brothers? Sappy reunions and group cuddles. I thought you were supposed to be these badass hunters", said Adam.

 

Dean cuffed him upside the head.

 

"YOU MOLOTOVED MICHAEL IN FRONT OF LUCIFER?!"

 

All three turned around to see the angels standing in a circle together on the porch. Well, Castiel and the other two were standing, Gabriel was literally rolling on the ground.

 

Dean took a moment to study the newcomers. One of them was the thieving angel - What the hell, God?! - looking smarmy in a ridiculous V-neck. That would be Balthazar he guessed, which would make the other one Samandriel. What a fucking mouthful and good God what kind of getup was the kid wearing? It looked like McDonald's uniform, only far more obnoxious.

 

"I don't wanna ruin your huggy session over there, but could somebody finally tell me what the hell is going on?" Bobby said from behind Sam's back.

 

Several expectant eyes turned to him and Dean sighed. "Let's get inside. You guys may want to sit down for this." He made an ushering motion towards the house.

 

He gave Bobby a brief hug when he passed him by on the way to the living room and got a "Good to have ya back, ya idjit" back.

 

Everyone scattered around the living room for a seat, Gabriel conjuring a comfy armchair for himself. All turned their expectant eyes on Dean again.

 

"So, eh…" Dean cleared his thought. "This might be a bit freaky."

 

"Isn't it always?" asked Sam.

 

"Even freakier than that."

 

Sam looked worried. As did Bobby. And Adam. The angels just looked expectant.

 

"Explain…" Bobby said.

 

And so Dean explained. Silence reigned at the end. Samandriel and Balthazar looked shocked. Gabriel seemed to be flowing over with unholy glee. Adam looked disbelieving and slightly overwhelmed. Castiel looked… constipated, as if the recounting of the events had made him realize things he hadn't thought of before and it was making him feel really unwell.

 

Sam and Bobby on the other hand had no expressions at all, but still managed to convey their shared thoughts of _why does shit like this always happen to us?_ Dean was pretty sure he had seen something similar in an anime once while channel surfing and had to admit that it looked even more disturbing in real life, on real life humans.

 

"So… You're like God's vessel?" Sam asked, no emotion breaking through his marble features.

 

"He is the Righteous Man", said Castiel, still looking slightly constipated.

 

"Or the Hand of God", Gabriel added. "But that always reminds me of kung fu movies."

 

"And God wants you to make a fresh start in Heaven…" Sam continued.

 

"Yeah but I'm supposed to get used to her grace before that-"

 

"I can help you with that!" Gabriel chimed in.

 

"-so I need to lay low for a while. I'm not sure how long exactly though, it might take some time."

 

"And I guess while you do that, we'll all get really bored", said Adam.

 

"Probably", agreed Dean.

 

There was an uncomfortable silence again.   

 

"Wait", said Bobby as he pulled a bottle of alcohol from the depth of his desk. He turned towards the angels. "Since you guys got this message from God that told you to come here and help out Dean, you will be staying here."

 

"Until this whole matter is resolved we will be staying here, yes," answered Samandriel. "It would probably be unwise to attract too much attention."

 

Bobby finished his glass in one go. "I don't have enough space for eight people, though. Especially not if you're going to be here for a while."

 

"Oh, that won't be a problem", Gabriel chirped and with the snap of his fingers a tremor went through the whole house.

 

The look of absolute terror on Bobby's face was pure gold. "What did you do?"

 

"Just a little bit of remodeling of the upper floor, or well, it's _floors_ now I guess. But don't worry, the house still looks the same from the outside. I should probably do some warding as well, so that Raphael can't get to us."

 

Bobby tore his way upstairs, while Gabriel skipped out into the yard.

 

Dean cleared his throat. "So, anybody want pancakes? I don't know about you, but I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm famished."

 

There was general head nodding.

 

"I'll help", offered Adam. "Mom had me helping in the kitchen since I was small, so I'm actually a pretty decent cook."

 

"Good, we'll need enough for a small army, what with Gabriel being here." Dean hoped that Bobby had enough ingredients.

 

After almost one hour, four ginormous stacks of pancakes and a one-sided shouting match between Bobby and Gabriel, they were all sprawled over various surfaces in the living room, eating pancakes. Well, eating pancakes and moaning like wanton whores would probably be more accurate. And yeah, Dean did really _not_ want to hear his little brothers and honorary uncle, make _those_ kinds of noises.

 

The weirdest reaction came from Gabriel though, who had drenched his own helping of pancakes in a disgusting amount of syrup, taken one bite and now was just staring at it in shock.

 

"You okay, Gabe?" Dean asked, which snapped Gabriel out of whatever la la land he had gone to and right into action.

 

He turned to the nearest angel, which was poor Castiel, grabbed him roughly by the hair and yanked. Castiel opened his mouth in protest, only for Gabriel to shove in a forkful of pancake and force him to shut it again.

 

"Chew!" Gabriel ordered.

 

Castiel obeyed reflexively. Then his eyes widened in shock. "I-I… can taste it…" he stammered, before snatching the fork from Gabriel and eating another bite.

 

Samandriel and Balthazar leaned over in interest. "I can taste it", Castiel repeated after swallowing.

 

Gabriel snapped up another two forks and pushed them into Samandriel and Balthazar's hands. "Try it!"

 

"What the hell is going on?" asked Sam. "What do you mean you can taste it? I thought angels did had a sense of taste, even if you don't need to eat."

 

"Weh, we yoo", said Gabriel cheeks stuffed like a hamsters. "Winwa."

 

"What Gabriel means to say", Castiel interjected, "is that while you humans can taste… the combination of the ingredients used in a meal, we can taste every single molecule."

 

Dean made a face. "That sounds disgusting."

 

"Compared to this - which I'm guessing is what food tastes like for you - it really is."

 

"Huh." Sam stared at the four angels _waging war_ over Gabriel's plate. "But wait. If food tastes so disgusting to you, how come Gabriel always stuffs his face with sweets."

 

Gabriel swallowed very loudly. "Well, I had to at first, because it's a trickster things and part of my cover. But then I started altering the taste, you know, to what I _thought_ sweets would taste like and that was better. Though compared to _this_ …" he moaned as he took another bite.

 

"Uh, that's all nice and everything", Adam said, "but _why_ can you suddenly taste pancakes?"

 

The angels paused in their eating for a moment. "Probably because Dean made them", Balthazar said.

 

"Huh", Sam said again. "Yeah, I guess this really is weirder than our usual level of weird."

 

-

 

After The Great Pancake Massacre, Dean found Castiel sitting on the porch gazing at the stars through Gabriel's shimmering wards. Listening to his inner Sam again - twice in one day! - he sat down as well, munching on an apple he had found in Bobby's fridge. "So, what's up with you?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

Dean snorted. "Don't even try, man. I saw your face when I told the others what happened. You looked like you had an epiphany or something and not of the good kind either."

 

Castiel sighed. "It wasn't really an epiphany. It was more like a foreboding feeling. When you recounted your meeting with Father again, it seemed to me as if there were a few things that didn't quite make sense."

 

"Like?"

 

"First of all, Father's grace. Why tell you to get used to it? Why not simply give you the knowledge of how to use it? It wouldn't go against free will, because what you do with that knowledge would still be your decision. You don't even know what you are capable of now, Dean. None of us know. Not realizing your own power could be dangerous, for everyone. Secondly, Balthazar and Samandriel. Why send them to you? I can understand the reason for Gabriel and myself being here. But why call on more angels? With Father's grace infused into your soul, Raphael should be no match for you." He paused. "And then, there is the matter of my name. As I already said, our names describe our duties. It is impossible for an angel not to know the meaning of his own name. I don't understand why Father would keep my true propose from me."

 

Dean just stared for a moment. He couldn't help but wonder if God was listening to them and feeling as proud as he was. Castiel really had come a long way from suppressing his doubts and only being a hammer.

 

"You're right. There really are some details that are fishy and I'm probably gonna have to be really careful with… this." He threw the apple core out into the yard before turning to Castiel, his expression dead serious. "But I'm willing to do this, 'cause I'm not excepting the alternative."

 

Castiel stared into his eyes as if he were looking into Dean's soul again. "Thank you, Dean."

 

Dean smiled.

 

-

 

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

 

Dean shot out of bed in an instant. He grabbed his gun and ran out into the corridor, nearly colliding with first Sam and then Adam. Together they raced down the stairs to the front door, where Bobby and the angels were standing. Dean motioned for Adam to stand back and was promptly ignored. Slowly, Dean and Sam with their guns raised and ready to shoot, they peered at what had the others staring.

 

"Uh, Bobby", Sam said. "Since when do you have a giant apple tree in your garden?" He squinted. "And are those apples golden?"

 

Dean swallowed. "Oops?"


	3. Bibbidi-Babbidi-Boo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You don't get it, do you? This is more than just borrowing some of God's powers to kick a few angelic asses. You're changing, Dean. You might not be entirely human anymore."

They _loved_ the apple tree. The first one to actually try an apple was, of course, Gabriel.

 

"Careful there, Gabe. We don't want you to fall from grace because you ate forbidden fruit, now do we?" Balthazar said jokingly, but made no move towards the tree.

 

"Don't be stupid, those were red. These look more like Iðunn's apples." He took a hearty first bite. A split second later he was up in the tree, where he proceeded to gobble down four more in under five minutes. It was a bit disgusting, really.

 

He was soon followed up by Adam who, to Dean's alarm, climbed right through Gabriel's wings and didn't even realize. Gabriel didn't seem to care either. And it was then, that Dean noticed that Gabriel had _six_ wings. After coming face to face with Cas that morning, Dean had tried to ignore everything but the angels' vessels. Seeing them wasn't exactly painful - his eyes were very much not burned out - but it was still uncomfortable. Like staring at a naked lightbulb.

 

Now however he actually took some time to observe and compare. The first things to draw attention were, of course, the wings. Or more precisely the wing numbers. Gabriel with six, Castiel with four and Samandriel and Balthazar with two. It was obviously a rank thing. The higher up the hierarchy you were the more wings you had. The second thing that probably indicated rank were the arches going over their heads from one shoulder to the other. Kinda like rainbows, only less colorful and they seemed to be made out of intricate ornaments and brightly shining jewels. Of course, Gabriel's arch was the broadest, had the most complex pattern and held the most number of jewels. It took a moment for Dean to realize what he was staring at.

 

Holy fuck, those were halos!

 

"These are the same as the pancakes", Castiel said as he appeared next to Dean, contently munching on an apple.

 

"They taste good then?"

 

"Yes, they're very enjoyable."

 

Dean grinned at the childlike wonder on Cas's face. "Maybe I should make you some burgers", he offered. "Or I could cook something different every day and you can try and see what you like."

 

Castiel looked at him a bit wide-eyed, the apple halfway to his mouth. "I would like that", he admitted.

 

"Make some brownies! Or apple pie!" Gabriel shouted.

 

Fucking angels and their fucking hearing.

 

-

 

"We're going shopping", Dean declared after examining the pathetic contents of Bobby's fridge.

 

"Good, I need some clothes", said Adam. "And Samandriel, too", he added.

 

"I am already clothed", Samandriel said.

 

"Those", Balthazar commented with a disdainful look at the red and white uniform, "are not clothes."

 

"He's right, you know", Adam turned to Samandriel. "What you're wearing is a work uniform. People don't wear that outside of work. It'll look weird when you go out."

 

Samandriel looked down at his clothes as if they'd betrayed him.

 

Dean clapped his hands. "Okay then. We need groceries and clothes."

 

"Will it be save though? To go outside of the wards", Sam asked.

 

Dean scowled.

 

"Stop making a face, dude. You said it yourself, we're supposed to lay low."

 

"Dude, what else do you wanna do? Starve? We really need food. Bobby's fridge's practically empty."

 

"Well I wasn't planning on you idjits eating me outta house and home", grumbled Bobby.

 

"You know, I could snap something up for you", Gabriel said casually.

 

"No!" said Sam and Dean.

 

"But seriously", said Sam, "is it actually safe for us to go on a shopping spree, what with Raphael out there and everything?"

 

"Well, you guys still have those sigils on your ribs and we", Gabriel gestured towards his brothers, "can make sure that nobody finds us. So, yeah. It should be okay."

 

Dean grinned winningly at Sam. "See?" Then he turned to Samandriel. "Come on, Alfie. I'll lend you some clothes for the time being."

 

"My name is Samandriel."

 

"It's a fucking mouthful, is what it is. Besides, I ain't calling you Sam and your nametag says Alfie."

 

-

 

Even with Booby and Balthazar refusing to go, there were still some logistical problems. Dean vehemently said no to the angel express and Samandriel was actually curious about riding in a car. So they ended up with Dean behind the wheel, Sam riding shotgun, Castiel behind the driver's seat, Adam wedged in the middle and Samandriel sitting behind Sam. Gabriel was sitting on the roof.

 

"If I get pulled over because of you-"

 

"Don't worry, Dean-o. I'll make sure nobody sees me."

 

Gabriel proceeded to spread his wings, the longest feathers clearly visible in the side mirrors. They were such an obnoxious shade of red that they distracted Dean like nobody's business. He was very happy when they finally arrived at the Empire Mall.

 

"Why did I have to drive you to the mall again?" Dean asked.

 

"Because knowing the two of you we'd have ended up at a secondhand store, and", Gabriel said as he pulled out a black credit card, "I have this."

 

Fucking archangel-turned-trickster-turned-archangel. At least it wasn't Dean who'd have to foot the bill.

 

They went to Spear's first, because it was nearest. Gabriel immediately grabbed Adam and Samandriel and dragged them away while cackling madly.

 

"Let's go this way." Dean turned and ran in the opposite direction.

 

"I'm gonna go and get myself some new jeans!" Sam called after him and disappeared between some racks.

 

"Do you also want to buy new clothing?" Castiel asked from Dean's right, who barely refrained from jmping a foot in the air.

 

"Nah, I'm fine. Although", he looked at Castiel, considering, "maybe we should get _you_ some clothes."

 

Castiel looked down at himself. "These are sufficient. I don't need more."

 

"Yeah, well, we are laying low though", Dean pointed out. " And, apart from the fact that wearing the same clothes every day is not a good idea if you wanna pass as a human, that trench coat is kinda distinctive."

 

Castiel scowled. Dean could see him wanting to object, but at the same time acknowledging Dean's logic and giving up the battle. It really was funny, when one could interpret the angelic micro expressions, that is.

 

"I don't know what would be… appropriate for my vessel" he admitted grudgingly.

 

Dean chuckled. "I'll help. C'mon."

 

They didn't go for the usual Winchester wardrobe of paid shirts. Castiel, in Dean's opinion, was a tad bit too classy for that, So he tried to find clothes with a… simple elegance. So they looked at tees, jumpers and button-ups without patterns, but with flattering colors. Castiel seemed to prefer darker jeans and Dean found a shirt that was almost the same shade as Cas' eyes.

 

"We should get you some new shoes as well", he turned to Cas, only to see that he had wandered off to look at some jackets. Leather jackets.

 

Dean grinned. "I'd go with a classic black one. It'd look awesome with your wings."

 

More than two hours and several hundred dollars later everyone was sufficiently clothed. Adam and Samandriel were giving off geeky college kid auras in their new getups. Castiel had chosen to wear some of his new clothes as well; a soft grey tee, the blue shirt Dean had picked out, black jeans and the leather jacket which really did look awesome combined with Cas' wings.

 

After a short debate they decided to eat lunch at the mall and were almost kicked out halfway through. Because, as it turned out, Gabriel, Dean and Adam together were a terrible combination. Dean had to admit that as much as he hated the Gabriel sometimes, when he was not on the receiving end (and no one died), Gabriel's pranks were hilarious. 

 

After leaving the mall, Dean dragged them all to the next grocery store. He regretted it immediately. Going food shopping with angels that had just discovered how good food could taste, was like bringing trigger happy  baby Jedi into a lightsaber store.

 

They touched everything.

 

They sniffed at everything.

 

They argued about what Dean should cook next.

 

The recipes got more and more outrageous.

 

"Alright! Stop!"

 

They all froze and turned to Dean in freaky angel synchronization.

 

"You two", he pointed to Gabriel and Samandriel, "take these two", he pointed to Sam and Adam, "and all the clothes from the car and get your asses back to Bobby's. You", he pointed at Castiel, "are going to stay here and help me carrying."

 

"What? Why does Castiel get to stay?" Gabriel whined.

 

"This is gross favoritism", Samandriel agreed.

 

"And why do we have to go? I mean I get the angels, but us?" Adam honest to God pouted.

 

"Well, I don't trust any angel to stay under the radar without supervision right now. Hell, I don't trust Cas without human supervision half of the time!" Castiel shot Dean a deeply offended look. "And since I get Cas, you can divide these two up among yourself to use the angel express."

 

"I get Samandriel!" Adam practically lunged himself at the poor guy and grabbed onto his shirt like a leech. Samandriel looked bewildered, alarmed and… flattered. His chest definitely puffed out a bit.

 

"Why do you automatically get Cas?" Sam asked, incredulous eyebrows and all.

 

Dean pointed at his left shoulder.

 

Sam snorted. "Dude, if anything, that means it's the other way round."

 

"I believe in equality."

 

"Yeah well, I refuse to be stuck with him", Sam hooked a thumb over his shoulder.

 

"Why does nobody like me", Gabriel complained.

 

"Gee, I wonder why", Dean and Sam chorused.

 

Gabriel sniffed haughtily and disappeared. In the middle of the fucking supermarket. Wonderful. Dean looked around sharply.

 

"Nobody noticed", Castiel reassured him.

 

Dean sighed a sigh of relief.

 

"Okay, come on you two. Let's get our stuff from the car", Sam said, tugging Adam and Samandriel along to the exit. Sometimes Dean was very thankful for Sam.

 

Finally rid of all little brothers and most angels, Dean turned back to his shopping. Castiel followed him far too closely, clearly trying to hold back any and all comments.

 

"You know you're allowed to speak, right? I don't mind hearing your opinion or recipe proposals. As long as they are no older than a hundred years or can't be found on google" he added.

 

Castiel looked at him with his difficult-problem-squinty-face and then opened his mouth.

 

-

 

Between Dean's not so secret domestic tendencies and Castiel's newfound curiosity for anything food related, they got a shit ton of stuff. So much so that they had to fit part of it on the back seats. Gabriel would have to expand the fridge to fit it all. Bobby wasn't going to be happy.

 

Adam and Samandriel were in the apple tree, with an honest to God basket, when they arrived. Adam cheekily waved at them as they drove by, his mouth was just as full of apple as the basket.

 

Castiel zapped out as soon as the car stopped. Dean heard the lid of the trunk open. Castiel and the shopping bags disappeared before Dean could even get out of the car. So, he took the bags from the back seat. Gabriel would have to expend the fridge. Bobby wouldn't be happy.

 

Adam and Samandriel were in the apple tree, picking apples when they arrived. Adam cheekily waved as they drove past.

 

Castiel zapped himself out of the car and Dean heard the lid of the trunk open. Before Dean even managed to get out of the driver's seat, Castiel had disappeared and the trunk was empty. So he took the bags from the back seat and made his way into the kitchen.

 

He found Castiel surrounded by a little shopping bag court, staring morosely at the fridge. "The fridge is too small to fit all of our shopping."

 

Dean laughed. "Yeah, I could have told you that beforehand. Gabriel will need to work his mojo. If he ever comes back that is. We can at least put away the stuff that will go bad fast."

 

Gabriel would have to make it bigger on the inside or something else Doctor Who, or Harry Potter. Actually, that would be pretty awesome. A normal fridge from the outside, but like cold storage room from the inside. The fridge door was actually big enough that with a bit of effort even Sam's guarantor ass could fit through.

 

Dean grinned at the thought, grabbed the six different kind of cheese Cas had picked and opened the fridge door.

 

The fridge shelves were gone.

 

Dean ducked a little to get a better view. Beyond the fridge door was a cold storage room, with shelf after shelf lining the walls and a huge freezer box tucked into a corner.

 

Dean closed the door.

 

"Dean?" Castiel was giving him the 'inquisitory face of squintiness'.

 

Dean opened the fridge door again. Yup, still a storage room.

 

"Cas, please tell me that you are seeing what I'm seeing."

 

Cas shuffled over to peer inside the open fridge. "That wasn't there a minute ago."

 

"No, no it wasn't."

 

"Dean, did you create a pocket dimension inside the fridge?"

 

"Did I do what now?"

 

"The room that you see exists in a pocket dimension that is only accessible through the door of this fridge."

 

"A pocket dimension."

 

Castiel nodded.

 

"And you think I did that?"

 

Castiel was squinting again. "What were you doing before you opened the fridge?"

 

"I wasn't doing anything, Cas. I was just thinking what it would look like if Gabriel turned the fridge into a… Oh."

 

"Exactly."

 

"Huh."

 

"Dean, you have gone very pale."

 

"I think I need to sit down."

 

Castiel lead him to the nearest chair and gently pushed him onto it. "Your powers are growing", he remarked.

 

Dean snorted. "Yeah, no shit. I didn't even realize I was doing anything. Same as the apple tree. I throw away a core, next day - boom - apple tree! This is starting to freak me out Cas."

 

"I am also rather concerned. You should not be able to do these things without any of the required knowledge."

 

"What d'ya mean?"

 

"To do what you did, with both the tree and the fridge, you need to have knowledge about the genetic make-up of trees and the inner working of a pocket dimension. It is the same principle I use for healing you. I know the genetic make-up of humans and more specifically yours."

 

"Dean scrunched up his face. "So, to know how to make a pocket dimension I need to know inflation theory first and how eternal inflation produces pocket universes with all physically allowed vacua and histories…" Dean trailed off.

 

"Yes", Castiel said slowly. They just stared at each other for a moment. "How about we put away the food first before we start panicking."

 

"That's a good idea." Dean tried very hard to get up. He really did.

 

"On second thought, let me put away the food. You should rest for a moment", suggested Castiel and got right down to work.

 

That was how Sam found them a few minutes later. "I put the clothes in the drier", he said to Dean, before he noticed that Cas _was coming out of the fridge_. "What the hell?"

 

"Yeah," Dean said with fake cheer. "I can create pocket dimensions just by imagining them. Go me."

 

Sam stared open mouthed. "I ask again - what the hell?!"

 

"Apparently knowledge is also part of the powers that Dean gets by infusing his soul with our father's grace. Knowledge that combined with his create powers makes him capable of more deeds than we first anticipated." Castiel trudged back out of the storage room.

 

"Creative powers… So this is more than the occasional ability and being able to get his smite on?" Sam looked from Castiel to Dean and back.

 

"It would seem so", Castiel said.

 

"But why? I mean, isn't that too much? He doesn't need all these extra abilities to go up against Raphael, does he?"

 

Dean gave Sam a look. "Dude, it already freaks me out enough, okay? You don't need to point it out."

 

Sam made an impressive bitch face. "You don't get it, do you? This is more than just borrowing some of God's powers to kick a few angelic asses. You're changing, Dean. You might not be entirely human anymore. The things you can do now, it's almost like you're becoming an angel."

 

They stared at Sam before Dean let out an explosive breath of air and stood up. "I'm gonna go and clean the car, maybe check on her breaks. Gabriel's little stunt didn't do her any good."

 

"Dean!" Sam called after him, but Dean ignored him and walked to the garage.

 

He took out a tool kit and popped his Baby's hood. He probably wouldn't find anything. He always kept her in mint condition. But he hadn't taken her out for a ride in close to ten months. Better safe than sorry.

 

He let his mind wander as his body went through the motions. Was Sam right? Was he actually turning into something else? Something not human?

 

When thought about it he imagined it like being a vessel. Angel wears you, phenomenal cosmic powers happen, angel fucks off, you're a normal mud-monkey again.

 

But it wasn't quite like that was it? God wasn't going to possess him. She was going to lend him her powers. No, that wasn't it either. She had actually given him a piece of herself and the way he had felt when her grace had poured into him, fusing with his very soul. Could it be that it actually changed him? He hadn't just gotten new abilities, he had knowledge now he hadn't had before. How much had he changed? How deep did it go? Was this it or was there more to come? Was it permanent? What would he become at the end? An angel? Would he become an emotionless marble statue with no will of its own? Would he…?

 

"Dean?"

 

He whirled around to see Castiel standing there, wings spread and reaching for Dean. "Hey, Cas."

 

"Are you alright, Dean? You seemed like you were panicking."

 

"Yeah, sorry. It's just… It just really hit me, you know?"

 

"Change can be frightening", Castiel supplied with a knowing, but not unkind look.

 

"Yeah", Dean sat down on Baby's hood, facing Castiel. "Yeah, it can be and in my experience most change is a clusterfuck."

 

"But not all change. Some of it can be good."

 

"I'm not sure this is the case here, Cas. In Hell I …"

 

"You will not become a demon, Dean."

 

"Well, I don't wanna become an angel either."

 

Castiel seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Maybe if you told father that you changed your mind…"

 

"NO!" Dean practically shouted. "I already told you, Cas. The alternative is not an option! I won't let that future happen. If I back out now, it might still happen in one way or another and I'm not letting you go through that." He rubbed his hands over his face. "I just don't want to turn into something like Zachariah or Uriel."

 

Castiel came over to sit next to Dean. His wings arched upward into a tipi around them. "I don't believe that will happen."

 

"Oh, yeah?"

 

"Yes", Castiel said with conviction. "You're too stubborn to truly change, Dean. If you become something other than human, you'd still be Dean. And even if, we would not let you. I would not let you. You aren't alone in this, Dean. Whatever may you will never be alone."

 

Dean smiled. "Thanks, Cas."

 

"Always, Dean."

 

He slipped his hand between Castiel's wing and shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze. His fingers tingled. "Come on, let's make you some burgers."


End file.
